Russia puts bounty on heads of Chechen leaders

Following on from last week's terrorist outrage in North Ossetia, Russian authorities have put a bounty on the heads of two rebel Chechen leaders.

Anyone providing information that would help "neutralise" Shamil Basayev and Aslan Maskhadov can expect 300 million roubles, or £5.65 million, according to reports emerging today.

There has been intense speculation in the media as to how the terror atrocity in which 326 people died – including 31 hostage-takers – would impact upon Vladimir Putin's Chechen policy. If today's reports are confirmed, it would appear that the man who ascended to power in Kremlin on the strength of his robust security policies will maintain the military pressure on separatist rebels.

It also emerged today that President Putin has met with the General Prosecutor of Russia, Vladimir Ustinov, to review the chain of events that led to the slaughter of so many men, women and children.

According to the testimonies of victims and the one surviving terrorist, 31 terrorists – including two female suicide bombers – drove three vehicles loaded with explosives and weaponry into the Beslan school and surrounded the pupils, parents and teachers.

Mr Ustinov reported that when some of the terrorists showed dissent over the school seizure, the gang's leader shot one of the rebels to restore authority.

Later on that day the gang leader and the two female suicide bombers blew themselves up "in order to frighten both the terrorists and hostages", the prosecutor said.

The school was also thoroughly mined – a task which was carried out with a good knowledge of engineering, as shown by the enormous area that they mined, Mr Ustinov said.

He added: "There were constant threats made to the hostages and terrorists, that they would die anyway and that there was one goal – to carry out this terrorist act. And eventually, after two days, when they began to re-organise the system of explosives – they changed it for some reason – there was an explosion. Panic began inside, and many hostages tried to escape. The rebels opened fire. The courage of our soldiers who stood between the rebels and children and adults is incredible."

According to Russian authorities, there were over 1,200 hostages – of whom 727 people were injured and 326 killed. Only 210 bodies have been identified; 32 body parts have also been found.

The Russians have deployed 60 investigators to the scene and over 130 "expert examinations" have been carried out.

At his monthly press conference yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Blair said that he had spoken to President Putin on Monday and "expressed on behalf of the British people our deep sympathy and horror at last week's events".

Mr Blair said that the Beslan represented a new type of extremist threat – it is "terrorism without limits, it is terrorism that is completely indifferent to the suffering".

The Prime Minister also reiterated his belief that law-abiding peoples would win the war on terror.

Elsewhere, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that the "brutal and senseless slaughter" of children in the attack only served to emphasize "the need for the world community to come together in confronting terrorism".

Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr Annan that governments now understood that the only way to deal with such threats was through "multilateral efforts" – the linchpin of which would be the UN.

Acts of terrorism, including bombings and hostage taking, have occurred in large Russian cities over the several years. Bombings have occurred at Russian government buildings, hotels, tourist sites, markets, residential complexes, entertainment venues and on public transportation.

On August 24, two airplanes departing from Moscow airport to cities in southern Russia crashed within minutes of each other. The cause of the crashes, which claimed 90 lives, has been identified as explosives onboard the planes.

On the same night, an explosion at a bus stop in Moscow injured several people. On August 31, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb outside a Moscow metro station killing 10 people and injuring several dozen more.

The US government has said that, due to the random nature of the attacks, American citizens in Russia should "exercise caution and remain vigilant and aware of these heightened risks when planning use of or using any form of public transportation".

(gmcg)